Cappies Review: 'Guys and Dolls' At Bishop Ireton High School

By Ellen Lawton of Herndon High School

Fancy a bet? Well, then, loosen your tie and stroll on down to "Runyonland"- that free, fantastical corner of New York City where your luck can turn with each toss of the dice. At Bishop Ireton High School, it's a gamble for the ages with the good old-fashioned "Guys and Dolls."

One of Broadway's most beloved classics, "Guys and Dolls" premiered in 1950, with a jazzy score by Frank Loesser and a book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. Based on the stories of Damon Runyon, it celebrates those who live life in the fast lane- telling the story of two crapshooters and their dubiously legal diversions. The one thing that can snuff them is the women they adore, from playful entertainers to prim-and-proper evangelists. And when it comes to love, all bets are off.

Bishop Ireton's production felt as if one had turned the corner right into the flamboyant, foul-smelling streets of fifties New York. Period-precise pillbox hats and dashingly decorated waistcoats, almost all of them actual vintage items, lent the show an air of authenticity. Paired with the electric sparkle of the street signs and the sound of several dozen New York accents, Runyonland easily burst into being. It was a spectacle that could only be outstripped by the glitz and glamour of its own nightlife- and its diamond of a star.

Shrouded in shades of rose and decked out in dazzling feathers, Miss Adelaide (Bethany Tilahun) descended from the heavens on a swing, right into the center of her cabaret. Tilahun's breathtaking entrance was merely the beginning. As the hotbox girls danced around, Tilahun offered up an operatic performance- never losing that New York accent- and effortlessly charmed the onlooking crowd of crapshooters. Just as charismatic was Sky Masterson (Donovan Furey), whose devil-may-care attitude quickly faded upon meeting the elegant Sarah Brown (Erin Allen). Furey's voice blended beautifully with Allen's in songs such as "I've Never Been In Love Before." Allen, additionally, slipped comically from straight laced to somewhat wild as Sky and Sarah went for a night out, walking with a convincingly silly drunkenness.

The lightning-quick crapshooter lifestyle was well played by Julien Goulet as Nicely-Nicely Johnson, whose charming attitude and excellent singing voice elevated each number. In "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat," Goulet seemed to command the whole ensemble, leaping atop tables with great fervor. The entire gambler gang had clever comic timing, and spun through numbers like "The Crapshooters' Dance" with a rip-roaring energy.

It was all truly made possible by the ingenuity of the set team (Anna Wisneski, Owen Penrose, Caroline Reams, BITA Design Team), whose detailed New York street- down to the window decorations- seemed full of surprises. Like a dollhouse, the two massive dice on either side of the street could easily unfold into colorful shops, shimmering nightclubs, and neat dressing rooms. The costumes (Iona McCluskey, Catherine Carrow, Nancy McDougal, BITA Costuming Team) were just as clever. With over six hundred pieces, most of them actually from the 1950s, the characters all looked right off the pages of a fashion magazine. Adelaide in particular had two hand-made dresses in beautiful shades of pink.

At Bishop Ireton, it seems, putting on a great show is no game of chance. With such passion, dedication, and detail put into it all, it's a safe bet that you'll love Guys and Dolls a whole "bushel and peck."